I knew I was going to enjoy Monday night when it started off with Slowclub, two of my favourite newcomers into the Music metropolis, proving their worth with a sound that, as I heard a young bystander announce, is ‘excellent..hard to describe’. Personally, I feel that receiving that comment deserves a medal in itself. To have originality in a saturated market does not come easy, but these two, with their innocence and charm seem to have cracked it. I advise if you have not heard their happy, synergetic sounds that you attend one of their forthcoming gigs, all listed on their myspace page, www.myspace.com/slowclub They are back at the ICA on the 12th May supporting Au Revoir Simone – don’t miss out! Here is the lovely, Rebecca..
She always comes out in photographs with this beautiful Seventies soft hue… Obviously she doesn’t actually carry with her a hippy pretty halo of light, (the guys in the lighting box might have something to do with this), but she wears it very well indeed.
And let's not be forgetting Charles with his sparkly cheeks...
Video Nasties… Due to no nice wide angle lens at the moment (any bankers wanting a new investment, you know where to call yes?!) I can’t show you just how neat these boys looked on stage as four frontmen stood in a line behind their evenly separated microphones.. Their more formal choice of arrangement was interesting as you felt close to all the band members, there was less room for ‘frontman’s ego’ and the audience were able to really focus in on each individual while hearing a united sound. The fact that this sound then conflicted on some level with their tidy formation accentuated the less neat, more punky aspect of their music. Ooh la la. Describing themselves as ‘alternative/grunge/pop’ I would agree, and there is definitely some of the 80’s punk and pop music that they mention on their myspace going on here... I occasionally heard some of The Cure’s frontman in Jimmie’s voice and their sound in general, but that’s maybe just me, but as a whole it was all energetic, well practiced stuff. Here are some of the best pics of these boys.
Jimmy Nastie - Guitar, Vocals
Joe Nastie - Bass, Vocals
Nastie Jorgenson - Keys
Nastie Hasroldo - Guitar, Vocals
Maccy on drums, I promise to try harder next time...
Check out their myspace on www.myspace.com/videonasties for more information of upcoming gigs and releases..
Finally, I move onto the final act, Good Books, who it must be said get my winning prize for the evening. I confess I knew nothing of these boys before Monday night but as with a good film, or book (sorry) it can actually be far more favourable to NOT know anything prior to first screening as any conclusions made you know are your own, and judgements come without bias one way or another… So, to my fresh ears, fascinating, fastidious rhythms and melodies ensued which is what this band are all about. Some tunes more pop like than others, some almost Keane like in their attention to melody, and overall a very together sound with a certain individual kick of their own. I could go on describing what they sound like but you really have to go and see these boys for yourselves.. But, fear not, stuff on Good Books does not end there as I have up my sleeve, the following mini interview with the lovely keyboardist JP, who sacrificed seeing some of the support to talk to me, so big up the JP!! Here seen looking at me from the stage about an hour later...
And the rest of the band.. On lead vocals Max...
You'd hardly believe this innocent fresh faced was the same guy really singing it out there on the stage..
doing this...
Then there's the talented Chris..
Eek I've just noticed I have no good ones of Good Books drummer either! Note to self, more conscientious pictures of drummers in future.. Always tucked back in the shadows, it's no good - not when they are basically keeping the whole number in time. I do apologise Leo!!
INTERVIEW WITH JP of GOOD BOOKS 30th April, 2007
How many are of you in total?
JP: 15, no there’s 4 of us
Have you been to the ICA before?
JP: No, I do know of it, I’ve heard about some of the exhibitions and the grime nights actually, I always knew it was a great place..
Excellent.. So when did you guys get together?
JP: We’ve been together for about 10 years now, we all knew each other from school, I knew Leo since he was about 10, Chris since 14, Max, 13, we were little muso’s, little public school boys..I joined the band that Olly was in at 14, and then it sort of grew and we got signed basically..
And by that you mean your first and current label Columbia Records; that must have been exciting..
JP: They gave us the most amount of money (laughs) No seriously, they have always been the label most interested in us from when we first started out, we put out a single Transgressive about a year and a half a go which got everyone interested but they were the ones to take us on.. Actually it was basically a year ago to the day just over there that it happened. We were signed on the 5th of May last year in Trafalgar Square..
Wow, that must have been cool, I hope you got some good pictures of that event
JP: (laughs) Yeah it was fantastic, lots of pictures..
So how would you describe yourselves musically? I know it’s not the easiest question…
JP: We’ve always like the idea of… Basically, we love pop music, but we don’t necessarily like the way a lot of pop music is musically written, arranged or constructed.. Bands like Hot Chip, Talking Heads, Diva, Ecstacy, that kind of pop music is more interestingly arranged; cool electronic stuff but in the context of a band. Pop music is period but it can be done in a really crass way or a new exciting way..
It must be quite hard to be original and innovative in a music market that is so saturated with so much new music, you need to know what’s out there but also try not to get lost in what other people are up to…How do you deal with that?
JP: I think you’ve just got to do what you think is exciting and really really good, I don’t think there’s any point in over listening to other people or trying to copy them . I think you can take inspiration and influence from other people, like the latest Arcade Fire album…Or like, I know this guy called Dntel, (www.myspace.com/dntel) who is Jimmy Tambarello from Postal Service, I’ve been listening to his new project, and it’s the exact same card; you get ideas and thoughts from that, and think about how to use elements.. but you don’t, well, I suppose yes, you will steal stuff (laughs)
Subconsciously almost..
JP: Well, yeah, you take stuff but interpret it in your own way. I think you need to have an understanding and an appreciation of other bands out there.. But then there are so many bands out there that follow in other bands footsteps too much.. I mean I love The Libertines but I almost wish they didn’t exist because there are so many terrible knock off of bands like that. That is the antithesis of why we are in a band and why we got together..
Did you come from a classical background? What is your musical training as such?
JP: I played classical piano from about nine.., then keyboards in a band, then I was involved in production, writing on the computer and that sort of thing, we’ve all done a bit of that and bring different skills to the band. Max and Leo have perfect pitch and Leo plays the cello. They have their way of writing; they can be quite mathematical in melody and harmonizing and that is why a lot of our stuff is strong on that level, I think some musical education obviously does help, you have to have at least a basic understanding of harmonies, arrangements and melodies to then be able to do interesting stuff over it, or with that…
So how old are you all now?
JP: I’m 20, Max 21, Leo 22…
Quite young, that’s good! Lots of time to go even further…
JP: Yeah, I mean there’s younger bands out there.. Cajun Dance Party are all around 16… I don’t think age really matters. There are other people finally getting lucky at 35-40.. I think one of the reasons a lot of artists are so young is because it takes a lot of courage to play live or face a room of record labels to make it. That’s scariest actually, rather than playing to a shit load of people at KOKO or a big festival in Amsterdam, playing to a room full of 80% labels can be horrible, soul destroying, but fun also knowing you are in the presence of all the big important people..
Highlight gig so far?
JP: That’s a tough one but I’d have to say supporting the Mackabees at Koko. That was excellent because we’d been together a whole month and the last night was sold out and packed out.. We played there the year before with the Kooks, which was horrible. It was far too big for us and we felt out of our depth but this time we were ready, felt like we’d earned it and deserved to be on stage a lot more. We didn’t feel out of place at all..
And in five years it will be Wembley!
JP: Maybe, that would be great, just keeping doing interesting stuff is what it’s all about really
And finally, try and describe your band with the letters .. ICA
After some delibeation with his fellow members they gave us..
JP, Chris, Leo, Max 'Inventive, Cute, Astounding'
Bravo!
For all information regarding Good Books, check their myspace, www.myspace.com/goodbooks look at all the lovely Good Books things you can buy, including their music of course..
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